3A STATE: Eagles rebound to pound Lowry

MESQUITE — Boulder City rode a 10-game winning streak into the Class 3A state baseball tournament.

But after losing to Churchill County in the winners’ bracket final, the Eagles will need a three-game winning streak to claim the championship.

One down, two to go.

Boulder City jumped on Lowry for five runs in the first inning en route to a 10-0 victory in five innings in the losers’ bracket final Friday at Virgin Valley.

“They responded great in that game,” Eagles coach Bill Strachan said. “And I knew they would. I really had confidence they would respond that way.”

Boulder City earned a rematch against Churchill County at 10 a.m. today. The Eagles (18-12) must defeat the Greenwave twice to win the title.

“We’ve just got to play our game and bounce back,” said Jack LaMarca, who drove in two runs and scored twice. “That was the biggest thing. We can’t think about the last game so much, but just completely forget about it.”

Aubrey Wrightsman and Nick Morelli each went 2-for-3 with two runs.

Tanner Howell’s sacrifice fly scored Wrightsman with the game’s first run, and Morelli came home on an RBI double by Billy Barth. Michael Hernandez added a two-run single before scoring on Sean Hickey’s RBI single.

Winning pitcher Thomas Shelley gave up four hits, and Boulder City didn’t allow a runner past first.

“I’m just proud of them, that they came back,” Strachan said. “The seniors and all the underclassmen, everybody showed what they’re made of and why we’re here. We didn’t let up.”

Churchill County 12, Boulder City 2 — Colton Oney was 2-for-3 with a triple and three runs as the Greenwave routed the Eagles in five innings.

Garrett Llamas went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI for Churchill County, which scored seven runs against three pitchers in the second inning.

Morelli was 2-for-3 with a run for Boulder City, and Hernandez also scored a run for the Eagles.

Lowry 10, Truckee 0 — Dustin Kraft hit a grand slam and Mitch Pollock added a three-run homer as the Buckaroos routed the Wolverines in a five-inning elimination game.

Kraft tossed a one-hitter to earn the victory for Lowry, which benefited from five Truckee errors.